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To be vegetarian or not to be?

Confession: I liked being a vegetarian since October of last year. However, I needed to return to be a omnivore, especially since I started training for half marathon.

The half marathon itself alone would not have swayed me back into the omnivore land. But, I had to say, it was whole different ball game running long distance and training three times a week while on almost-vegan diet (I did not like eggs and consume dairy). The challenge was protein and eating enough to refuel afterwards. At some point, it felt like I was eating constantly!

The deciding point was actually while treating my stomach inflammation the last two weeks, my doctor helped me discover that my body may be lacking protein and fat. I’m a strong believer with Chinese medicine and the whole holistic approach to health. My Chinese doctor warned that he had strong reservation about my fertility. And, surely, my basal temperature chart confirmed it.

To be fair, the challenge was already there prior to my vegetarian experimentation. The important note was while the experimentation did not “cause” the challenge, however, while I was almost vegan, my body temperature was certainly going lower (which may make conceiving/pregnancy difficult) We haven’t started our family yet, though it’s in the near horizon. Therefore, I went back to my normal diet.

The vegetarian experiment was not all a “waste”. I was actually feeling pretty good and understood that vegetarian diet was actually difficult practically speaking. Even now, back being an omnivore, my overall meat consumption was much lower than before. Additionally, I enjoyed fish more than red meat. As with Chinese medicine preaches, everything in moderation is key to longevity.

Disclaimer: I know there are women who are vegetarians all their lives and successfully raised families. I am not here to say what is right or wrong but to share my experience. I don’t believe there is ONE answer fits all. Everyone can/needs to find his or her own answers.